Bill Text: IL HB2357 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the unfunded mandates prohibition.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2014-12-03 - Session Sine Die [HB2357 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-HB2357-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | 22-60 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/22-60) | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 22-60. Unfunded mandates prohibited. | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | (a) No public school district or private school is | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | obligated to comply with the the following types of mandates | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | unless a separate appropriation has been enacted into law | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | providing full funding for the mandate for the school year | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | during which the mandate is required: | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | (1) Any mandate in this Code enacted after the | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | Assembly. | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | (2) Any regulatory mandate promulgated by the State | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | Board of Education and adopted by rule after the effective | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | other than those promulgated with respect to this Section | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | or statutes already enacted on or before the effective date | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | (b) If the amount appropriated to fund a mandate described | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | in subsection (a) of this Section does not fully fund the |
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1 | mandated activity, then the school district or private school | ||||||
2 | may choose to discontinue or modify the mandated activity to | ||||||
3 | ensure that the costs of compliance do not exceed the funding | ||||||
4 | received. | ||||||
5 | Before discontinuing or modifying the mandate, the school | ||||||
6 | district shall petition its regional superintendent of schools | ||||||
7 | on or before February 15 of each year to request to be exempt | ||||||
8 | from implementing the mandate in a school or schools in the | ||||||
9 | next school year. The petition shall include all legitimate | ||||||
10 | costs associated with implementing and operating the mandate, | ||||||
11 | the estimated reimbursement from State and federal sources, and | ||||||
12 | any unique circumstances the school district can verify that | ||||||
13 | exist that would cause the implementation and operation of such | ||||||
14 | a mandate to be cost prohibitive. | ||||||
15 | The regional superintendent of schools shall review the | ||||||
16 | petition. In accordance with the Open Meetings Act, he or she | ||||||
17 | shall convene a public hearing to hear testimony from the | ||||||
18 | school district and interested community members. The regional | ||||||
19 | superintendent shall, on or before March 15 of each year, | ||||||
20 | inform the school district of his or her decision, along with | ||||||
21 | the reasons why the exemption was granted or denied, in | ||||||
22 | writing. The regional superintendent must also send | ||||||
23 | notification to the State Board of Education detailing which | ||||||
24 | school districts requested an exemption and the results. | ||||||
25 | If the regional superintendent grants an exemption to the | ||||||
26 | school district, then the school district is relieved from the |
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1 | requirement to establish and implement the mandate in the | ||||||
2 | school or schools granted an exemption for the next school | ||||||
3 | year.
If the regional superintendent of schools does not grant | ||||||
4 | an exemption, then the school district shall implement the | ||||||
5 | mandate in accordance with the applicable law or rule by the | ||||||
6 | first student attendance day of the next school year. However, | ||||||
7 | the school district or a resident of the school district may on | ||||||
8 | or before April 15 appeal the decision of the regional | ||||||
9 | superintendent to the State Superintendent of Education. The | ||||||
10 | State Superintendent shall hear appeals on the decisions of | ||||||
11 | regional superintendents of schools no later than May 15 of | ||||||
12 | each year. The State Superintendent shall make a final decision | ||||||
13 | at the conclusion of the hearing on the school district's | ||||||
14 | request for an exemption from the mandate. If the State | ||||||
15 | Superintendent grants an exemption, then the school district is | ||||||
16 | relieved from the requirement to implement a mandate in the | ||||||
17 | school or schools granted an exemption for the next school | ||||||
18 | year. If the State Superintendent does not grant an exemption, | ||||||
19 | then the school district shall implement the mandate in | ||||||
20 | accordance with the applicable law or rule by the first student | ||||||
21 | attendance day of the next school year. | ||||||
22 | If a school district or private school discontinues or | ||||||
23 | modifies a mandated activity due to lack of full funding from | ||||||
24 | the State, then the school district or private school shall | ||||||
25 | annually maintain and update a list of discontinued or modified | ||||||
26 | mandated activities. The list shall be provided to the State |
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1 | Board of Education upon request. | ||||||
2 | (c) This Section does not apply to (i) any new statutory or | ||||||
3 | regulatory mandates related to revised learning standards | ||||||
4 | developed through the Common Core State Standards Initiative | ||||||
5 | and assessments developed to align with those standards or | ||||||
6 | actions specified in this State's Phase 2 Race to the Top Grant | ||||||
7 | application if the application is approved by the United States | ||||||
8 | Department of Education or (ii) new statutory or regulatory | ||||||
9 | mandates from the Race to the Top Grant through the federal | ||||||
10 | American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 imposed on | ||||||
11 | school districts designated as being in the lowest performing | ||||||
12 | 5% of schools within the Race to the Top Grant application. | ||||||
13 | (d) In any instances in which this Section conflicts with | ||||||
14 | the State Mandates Act, the State Mandates Act shall prevail.
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15 | (Source: P.A. 96-1441, eff. 8-20-10.)
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